There are many fields in which electrical connectors or the components thereof are subject to damage during shipping and handling. In many instances, the connector or connector components cannot remain protected by their original packaging and must be shipped separately unmounted from a device or apparatus with which the component is electrically associated. One such field is the automotive field wherein considerable handling is involved because of the nature of mass producing/assembly line manufacturing of automobiles and the many different suppliers of parts therefor.
One example is in manufacturing windows having conductors imbedded therein for defogging purposes. The windows are fabricated separately and then assembled to the final product. However, connectors are used to couple the window conductor to some form of electrical wiring harness on the automobile. It would be desirable to have an electrical connector component already attached or coupled to the window and shipped in that condition so that the window simply is assembled to the automobile and readily coupled in-circuit with the separately assembled wiring harness. However, such an electrical connector component will be exposed during manufacture, shipping and handling and is prone to be damaged during such movement.
This invention is directed to solving the problems outlined above by providing a male terminal for an electrical connector assembly which is very easy and inexpensive to manufacture and which has an integral shroud for protecting the male contact portion of the terminal.